Students' Political Attitudes: Are Gender and Race Important Variables?

Avery, Patricia; Hahn, Carole L.

Past research has suggested that gender and race may be important factors in the development of students' political attitudes, that males express more positive political attitudes than do females, and that white students express more positive political attitudes than do black students. A 31-item Political Attitudes Inventory was administered to 327 high school students to examine their political attitudes with respect to gender and race. Previous factor analyses yielded factor structures which established the construct validity for the concepts of Social Trust, Social Integration, Political Interest, and Political Confidence. The study used a 2x2 (gender x race) factorial design. The interaction effect between the two independent variables (race, sex) was found to be nonsignificant for each of the four dependent variables (Social Trust, Social Integration, Political Interest, Political Confidence). Further analyses indicated that race was a significant source of variance for Social Trust, Social Integration, and Political Confidence; in all cases blacks expressed more negative attitudes than did whites. Gender differences were significant in only one area: females demonstrated a lower sense of Political Confidence than did males. No differences in Political Interest among the groups were demonstrated. These findings suggest than both female students and black students sense a lesser degree of personal influence on political activities. (NRB)